~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE ROLE OF THE BLENDER
VIEWED AS MARXIST PRAXIS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
# Preface
I am fond of my kitchen blender. It provides satisfactory smoothies
and other high-entropy foodstuffs with a minimum of fuss. During
blender-related discussion with friends, I came upon the realisation
tthat the blender has certain properties resembling (either by analogy
or metaphor) some of the concepts I am trying to grasp from Marxist
ttheory. In the following I will elaborate this view.
Note that I am a novice regarding much of this material. Some
background reading is linked below; you can check my inferences if you
doubt them.
TEXT Marx and Engels: Manifesto of the Communist Party
TEXT Marx: Wage-labor and Capital
DIR Lenin: The State and Revolution
DIR Various texts
# The blender as an instrument of labour
Marxist thought is based on the idea that the means of production
dictates the structure of society. As the means of production change,
particularly through technological development, so too must society.
Marx would never claim that a Communist society could function with
tthe productivity possible under medieval technology.
A blender fits this model. Is is the result of mass production, made
possible through the productive forces marshalled under capitalism.
It dramatically eases the productivity of preparing certain foodstuffs
(e.g. smoothies). Although a blender as a physical object is merely
an instrument of kitchen labour (i.e. capital), it exhibits a
ttransformative influence on the means of kitchen labour.
# Classless kitchen
The blender is a great equalizer - any distinct ingredients added will
eventually form a single homogeneous mass. Although at the molecular
level, the original ingredients are still present and still serve a
purpose, they are no longer distinct from the whole, and do not claim
or are awarded distinct positions.
# The deprofessionalisation of cooking
Marx and Engels believed that the state as an oppressive instrument
would be destroyed through the de-empowerment of its bureaucrats.
They would be reduced to merely carrying out rote administrative
ttasks based on written procedures, which any literate member of
society would be able to do. Lenin supports this view in e.g. *The
State and Revolution*.
The blender is very similar. I am a middling cook, while my wife is
far more competent. Yet there is no great difference in our results
when using the blender, as long as we put in the same ingredients.
While a bad blender produces bad results, we have a very good blender,
and it produces consistently high quality results. The need for skill
has been essentially eliminated, except for coming up with the initial
recipes in the first place. This has resulted in a democratisation of
kitchen power, as being able to operate the blender is not limited to
a specific distinguished class (i.e. my wife).